Math teacher Katherine Garcia educates ‘Step Up’ participants.
WEST ORANGE, NJ — The annual summer “Step Up” program at West Orange High School concluded on July 15, providing academic enrichment to more than 30 incoming freshmen.
This year’s program offered daily courses in English language arts, math and organizational skills. Graduating eighth-grade students who might benefit from additional academic support were identified by their instructors at Liberty and Roosevelt middle schools and recommended for Step Up. Academics were held Mondays through Wednesdays from 9 a.m. to noon. Students came together on Thursdays for fun team-building activities, and had the opportunity to meet the administration, including Principal Hayden Moore, assistant principals and deans, and supportive upperclassmen who had attended the program. Team-building activities culminated in a scavenger hunt that helped students learn the layout of the campus.
“We have been offering the Step Up program to incoming freshmen for the past nine years,” Moore said. “Statistics show that the program has increased the students’ ability to be successful in their first year by offering additional academic studies, meeting staff and upperclassmen, and having our teachers support them year-long. Thanks go to lead teacher Chuck Manzo, ELA teacher Molly Wachtel, math teacher Katherine Garcia and organizational teacher Sharon Ortiz for their commitment to helping our newest Mountaineers succeed.”
The program will continue throughout the academic year, with teachers following up with the students each marking period.
Photos Courtesy of WOSD
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